The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
"I have been given BJP ticket from Mandi and the party has informed me about this," he said.
Voters in Himachal Pradesh have traditionally brought the Congress and the BJP in power alternately.
'I foresee a Kashmir-like situation in Himachal where we could play a pivotal role in the formation of the new government,' says Himachal Vikas Congress chief Sukh Ram.
The BJP launched an all-out and aggressive personalised campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, but voters went by local rather than national issues.
Veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Sukh Ram has died, his grandson said on Wednesday. He was 94.
Himachal has a tradition of change in government after every elections and going by the trend, this time it is the turn of the BJP which is upbeat after exit poll results.
A tree on a mountain opposite the gurudwara got uprooted following a storm and landslide. It fell on some vehicles parked on the road, killing six and injuring three others.
'Mr Modi has the power and pre-eminence in the BJP-RSS to choose how long he wants to serve, and he is definitely going to want to contest in 2029.' 'He will only be 79, as old as Donald Trump now, and fitter,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
Mansa Ram and Parkash Chaudhary resigned in protest over the issues to tickets to BJP candidates for the upcoming assembly election.
The rebels, who contested as independents in the assembly polls, marred the prospects of BJP candidates in eight seats while Congress candidates were hit in four assembly segments.
Development is the only solution to people's problems, he said, asserting that India would have to scale new heights of development if it was to do well globally.
Shivakumar said, "Mahayuti leaders should visit my state to see how Congress' welfare guarantees are benefiting people."
Meanwhile, the CPI (Marxist) candidate Anadi Sahu won the assembly by-election from Vidyasagar seat in Kolkata.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
Allocation of portfolios would be the immediate vexatious issue for the party, with supporters of Virbhadra Singh already feeling sidelined after the elevation of the late chief minister's professed rival Sukhu.
The Congress has tried to inflict capital punishment on true secularism, he claimed, asserting that the Waqf law has no place in the Constitution.
Some of Independents claimed that the Congress and the BJP have been in touch with them.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
BJP heavyweights Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda, Ajay Mishra Teni and Kailash Chaudhary were among the 13 Union ministers who tasted defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as stunning losses in three Hindi heartland states forced the BJP to rely on allies to form the government.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant hit out at the actress for leaving Mumbai for her home state Himachal Pradesh without giving information about drugs to government agencies.
The PM also said the results proved that there is a strong support for "politics of good governance and development".
BJP may get up to a maximum of 115 of the total 182 seats and the Congress 65.
On Tuesday, when trends indicated she was going to win her election, the four-time National Award winner said, 'Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust... This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi.'
The Maharashtra Congress has convened a meeting of its legislators on Tuesday in view of the developments in the state that saw a split in the Nationalist Congress Party and Ajit Pawar being inducted as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government.
As the new year arrives, what is clear is that the BJP's stars continue to shine the brightest while its rivals' search for a way to dim their glow go on.
Pawar said state Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat had met him and extended an invitation to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
After Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra began criss-crossing the Hindi heartland, BJP leaders have revived their attacks on 'dynasty politics' and 'family rule' in the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Leaders from 26 opposition parties, in power individually or in alliance in Delhi and 10 states, are meeting in Bengaluru to discuss strategy to take on the Narendra Modi-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
With organisations like the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which is a front of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, telling Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman they want OPS back, the government is in a bind, report Shiva Rajora and Aditi Phadnis.
Rahul Gandhi pressed Modi to 'say something' on the issue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, reactions poured in from various leaders across the political spectrum.
The Congress leader also targeted Modi over "hasty" implementation of the GST, and his pet bullet train project.
The Maharashtra HM had said on Tuesday that the Mumbai police will probe allegations by actor Adhyayan Suman that Ranaut took drugs.
'Kangana Ranaut is not only the Sena's issue, but also of those who love Mumbai and Maharashtra'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances